


Buddy System

by FluffyKasady, freshiewrites



Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Angst, Eddie has ADHD, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, I'll add more tags later, M/M, Other, Possible Eventual Foursome, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, emotional angst, hard angst, havent decided yet - Freeform, those 6 months
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2020-10-10 13:48:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20529041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FluffyKasady/pseuds/FluffyKasady, https://archiveofourown.org/users/freshiewrites/pseuds/freshiewrites
Summary: Eddie screamed. Screamed. And kept screaming.





	1. Ebony Slick in the Water

**Author's Note:**

> idk i loved the movie a lot and i wanted to write some fic for it ^^
> 
> i've had this half written since last year, fuck lol
> 
> read the tags, this one gets a little rough
> 
> enjoy :D

Eddie moved through the house, toothbrush hanging from his mouth as he tried to make sure all of the windows were locked, the latches tightly cinched and the curtains drawn. You couldn’t be too careful, living in a city like this; Eddie had been burned too many times to not do a nightly check.

Well, that and Venom was sure to remind him, his own rampant paranoia showing through his "cool facade". 

**Don’t forget the shit window, Eddie.**

Raising a finger in the air, he turned an about face, headed straight for the tiny ass bathroom where the window was still propped open, the light proudly proclaiming that his tiny, albeit  _ shitty  _ apartment was ripe for the taking. Quickly taking out the wooden block he used to prop the broken thing open, he winced lightly as it came crashing back down, the glass rattling fiercely for a second.

**Good job.**

“Aw, shut up.” Eddie rolled his eyes as he scooped the toothbrush from his mouth and spat into the sink, rinsing his mouth out and splashing his face with water before glaring at himself in the mirror. The waves of sarcastic emotion coming from his other half just made him glare harder.

**I think you look fine. Although, your face will become stuck like that if you do not lighten up a bit.**

“ _ Shut up. _ ”

**Moody today, are we?** Venom chuckled as Eddie growled, the sound pitiful in comparison to what it could have been, had Venom been the one doing it. Rolling his eyes, Eddie flipped off the bathroom light, padding across the open floor to the corner of the studio apartment where his “bedroom” resided. Flopping face first into soft blankets, Eddie sighed in relief as his eyes closed, a single tendril of black shooting out to flip the light off.

Venom was settled somewhere below his heart, his usual spot for when Eddie was sleeping. The heavy weight made him feel...safer, somehow. Knowing that Venom was there, always listening, watching. That he’d let  _ nothing  _ happen to him.

It was a far cry from six months ago, the explosion of the rocket above them, the icy chill of the water below...the empty hole ripped in the pit of his soul where Venom’s voice had once been, and no longer was.

\--------------------

Eddie screamed. Had been screaming, splashing in the water, trying desperately to find any slick of black in the already endlessly ebony water, screaming in his own mind trying to get any sort of response. There was nothing.

There was no answer when he was finally pulled back to shore by some buff fireman, no answer when a blanket was thrown over his shoulders, nothing when he was asked if he had anyone he could call to come get him. They thought he had been trying to commit suicide at just the wrong time; it was better than them assuming he had something to do with the burning cliffside. 

Anne came, at some point. She had her arm around his shoulders; as soon as he felt her warmth he cried. He was so cold, shaken to his core. The emptiness in his head felt wrong, the wrongness of it making him chilled down to his very marrow. 

He told her, when she asked if Venom was still around. Told her the truth, that he’d sacrificed himself for Eddie’s worthless ass. Anne had cuffed him gently over the side of the head and pulled him closer. 

He’d stayed the night with her, that night. Dan had been sympathetic, in his own way, but Eddie still felt...numb. The one friend he’d ever had that actually liked him back, the one who’d protected him and saved his whole planet just because  _ he liked Eddie _ ...he was gone. No one liked Eddie just for Eddie, not even Anne. She’d learned pretty quickly that he had his faults like any other man, and after that last,  _ final  _ mistake she’d dropped him. Not from her life, not so far as to keep him from ever seeing her again, but enough that he was on his own again.

They kept a close eye on him, that night, and the following day, seemingly convinced he was going to try something stupid. And, well, maybe they weren’t far off, since the overwhelming desire to go back to the beach and scream into the water until he drowned was strong in his soul, but. No. Venom was gone, Drake was gone, Riot was gone. They were all gone but he was still here, still had a job to do, still needed to get rid of the fucking trash in this city.

If he had to do it without Venom, well. He damn well would give it his best effort, because that’s what Brocks did. That’s what  _ Eddie  _ did, with or without his other half.

So, on the third day, he left Anne’s house, kissing her against the cheek and giving Dan a firm handshake. They watched him leave with worried eyes, the feel of them on his back making him nauseas, but he kept going, until he reached his apartment. 

He had calls to make, rotten food to throw out, a giant ass mess to clean up because his landlord sucked, but. First he was taking a shower. He was eating a bar of chocolate. And he was getting a damn drink.


	2. Depression is a Bitch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ive decided that Eddie Brock has ADHD and this is the hill I'm dying on
> 
> enjoy ;D

Of course, the next morning, he was unable to do most of those things. Waking up was a hassle, opening his eyes was a hassle, and staying awake for longer than a few seconds was a damn ass hassle, so he just. Didn’t stay awake. Didn’t keep his eyes open. And didn’t really wake up again fully until three days later.

The only reason he knew how many days it’d been was because, in his infinite foresight, he’d left his phone on silent and Anne, in  _ her  _ infinite wisdom, had figured out something was up the second day. 

He’d blearily opened his eyes to the sound of his door being broken in, his only thought of “Oh shit, not again…” shattered as a very, very angry Anne and Dan (and wow, that rhymed did they know that?) were suddenly up in his face with a penlight and a light smack.

Dan had declared him unfit to stay in his own apartment and they’d hauled both him and a suitcase of pretty much everything he owned out the door and into a cab. He stunk, he knew he did after three days of vegetation but the cab driver said nothing under Anne’s fierce gaze, simply drove them to the nicer side of town, dropping them off at Anne and Dan’s apartment. 

He stood in their doorway for a moment, the whiplash of nostalgia somewhat hampered by the firm, yet gentle push he got to move inside. He was sort of aware that he was only in a shirt and boxers, blanket wrapped around him as he stepped into the living room and collapsed into the couch.

There were the noises of severe talking and drawers slamming open and shut, from the guest bedroom and if Eddie had been able to feel more than just extremely tired, he might have felt extremely guilty instead. Instead, he sat there, blinking as he tried to not just fall back asleep on this damn couch, until Anne was in front of him again.

She was tense, her arms crossed over her chest as she all but glared down at him, but from what he could tell she wasn’t exactly mad. More like intensely worried. Still, it triggered his stupid emotions and suddenly he was blubbering, face hidden in his blanket as he told her he was sorry.

“Oh Eddie…” Anne said, soft and sweet and much more than he deserved. “I’m not mad at you, sweetheart. Dan and I aren’t mad, or disappointed, or whatever.”

He nearly tensed as her thin, but strong arms wrapped around him, pulling him into her chest so he was laying over the couch. He’d likely fall asleep again like this, but it was worth it just to be next to her again. Just to feel her warmth again. 

“We’re worried as all hell,” she said with a vehemence that had him cringing again, until she started petting his head. “But we’re not mad.”

He relaxed into her, nodding as he slowly calmed down. Silence reigned for a few moments, before she finally prodded his shoulder with one finger. 

“Dan’s bringing back takeout, so stay awake to eat it. Okay mister?”

Eddie groaned, but nodded, sitting up and pulling away from her only to relax further as she moved with him, keeping an arm around his shoulder. He could stay like this until Dan got back and he’d eaten something, he was sure he could. 

At least, that was what he told himself as his eyes slowly fluttered shut and he dozed off, Anna watching him with a barely concealed, soft smile.


	3. he'd try

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is where those "suicidal thoughts" tags and such come into play
> 
> Eddie was already not in a great way and yeaaah stuffs going down
> 
> enjoy :D

Its the second day he’d stayed there that Dan finally asked if he could give him a look over, and ask a few questions. Eddie didn’t have any kind of problems with doctors, not ones like Dan at any rate, so he’d agreed, as long as no rubber gloves were brought in when he wasn’t expecting it. 

The joke fell flat but Dan still laughed. Dan was an okay guy, Annie had picked well. 

Dan had poked and prodded his arms and legs, asking if he could feel every poke and prod and whether it was a poke or prod. He got a light shone in his eyes, something weird tickling the inside of his ears, and a small wooden paddle stuck in his mouth. Dan didn’t seem to find anything that alarmed him, which, he’d been looked over by the medics at the beach so Eddie wasn’t sure what Dan was looking for that they weren’t.

He didn’t ask though.

Then came the questions, ones that Eddie either didn’t have an answer for or knew the answer he did have, they wouldn’t like.

“Do you feel down at all? Depressed, anxious, even manic?” Dan asked, a serious expression on his face, and how could Eddie lie to a face like his?

“I’m uh, always anxious? But maybe depressed, yeah.” he answered, hoping he was giving enough information. Dan squinted down at a paper he wasn’t letting Eddie see, and something inside him felt suspicious at that but he didn’t say anything about it. 

“Alright, do you feel like you’re in a dark place right now? Sort of deep down in your gut? Like the lights gone and it’s not going to come back?”

Something about this felt very much not like what a doctor would do or say, but maybe this was Annie’s Boyfriend Dan and not Doctor Dan. So again, he answered honestly. “Yeah… yeah I guess so, yeah.”

Now dan was frowning, scribbling something down on his paper and as he looked up at Eddie, his stomach fell at the absolute seriousness in his expression. No joking here, none at all. It made a guy uncomfortable, but again, he didn’t say so.

“Now, I’m going to ask you this, Eddie, and I want you to be absolutely honest, okay?”

Eddie thought about that for a moment, then nodded. He thought he could do that, for Dan.

“If we let you go back home, what are the chances you might hurt yourself?”

It was said so bluntly that at first, it was nearly a knee jerk instinct to deny it. Who would admit to being afraid they might hurt themselves, if left to their own devices? But again… this was Dan. It was Annie. He could trust them with his life, apparently, even after all the times he’d messed up so badly no one should want anything to do with him.

Yeah, no, there was only one honest answer to this, and Dan could see it in his face. As it turned out, Eddie didn’t even need to admit it out loud, Dan saw it and nodded, writing down one more thing on his paper before getting to his feet from the armchair he’d been sitting on, Eddie leaning forward on the plush couch. Heading for the doorway where Annie had been waiting, messing with her phone, Dan whispered to her in a heated way, becoming mildly upset even as he glanced at Eddie like he was going to just disappear if not kept a constant eye on.

Eventually Annie nodded, a sort of determination on her face as she glanced at Eddie, a fierce something in her eyes that made him miss, once again, what they’d had.

He sort of blanked out for a little bit after that, because the next thing he knew Annie was in front of him with a little box of what smelled like his favorite take out. His stomach grumbled and complained loudly, Annie smiling as she offered it over. He took it gingerly, nearly fumbling the little folded edges as he took the offered chopsticks.

“Eat that and we’ll talk about what’s going on, okay?” she said, her voice soft. Softer than he remembered it being when they were together. Some part of him felt stung by it, that he needed extra care and whatever shit, but the rest of him was too numb to care. 

He ate slowly, the chicken and mushrooms bland in his mouth. Still, he ate the entire box so he could hand her back an empty container, the chopsticks propped inside. She took them, heading into just the other room where she could still see him, throwing the box away and grabbing him a bottle of water.

He drank it greedily when she handed it to him, only stopping when his stomach felt like it might burst. Then, looking up to where she’d sat across from him, in much the same way Dan had been, he asked the question. “Am I on suicide watch?”

Annie sighed, rubbing a hand over her face before nodding. “You’re staying here until its lifted. We can’t chance you hurting yourself over a stray thought or urge. Its the safest way.”

Eddie nodded, staring down at the water bottle in his hands. Well… so much for getting back into the game. So much for moving on from Venom, from the whole situation with Riot and his jackass host, from actually falling into a damn ocean from 50 feet up and not breaking anything but his own heart.

He wasn’t ready for this. Would probably never be ready for losing what had become his second half. 

But apparently he had to.

Annie would help, so would Dan, they’d make sure he didn’t do anything stupid and off himself over a stray thought about hating himself. But good lord… he wasn’t sure he could do this. 

Not without the one person who’d ever gotten him. Who’d ever protected him. Who’d ever  _ liked  _ him.

Fuck, he really didn’t know that he could do this.

But he’d try.


End file.
